I work from home, so part of my job requires procrastination in the form of staring out my window onto the grassy hill beside my home. We have a lot of wildlife where I live. I see deer, coyotes, and wild turkeys on a daily basis. I also spend a lot of time watching my cat, Newton, romping on the hill chasing various unknown things in the grass and wildflowers.
My cat isn’t exactly the smartest beast in the animal kingdom, but we love him anyway. He just raced through the front door and skidded to a halt between my feet under my desk, where he now sits shivering and looking a little wild in the eyes. I know what’s coming, and as I start to laugh I hear gobbling. The turkeys are coming over to hang out on our hill. Newton has cause for fear.
About a month ago while I was doing my job’s required window watching I watched Newton stalk through the grass towards a flock of turkeys on the hill. He got closer and closer to the lead bird — a giant bird I lovingly refer to as Birdzilla — and looked like he was going to pounce. I couldn’t believe he was actually going to do it, but he did.
He jumped onto the back of Birdzilla and then jumped off and started strutting away like he was something tough. I started laughing until I saw Birdzilla turn around and focus on my cat. Newton never saw it coming; Birdzilla stalked up right behind him and nipped his tail. Newton howled and jumped five feet into the air, his legs trying to run — like a cartoon character. He finally touched down and took off.
Now I always know when the turkeys are on their way to hang out on our hill because it doesn’t matter where Newton is or what he’s doing, he runs for his hiding spot under my desk and stays there until the turkeys are gone.
